Need help photographing the Milky Way? Comment below! 👉 And check this guide to master Milky Way photography: www.photopills.com/articles/milky-way-photography-guide
So helpful! I am an amateur for many years but now retired and wanting to learn how to be a better photographer. I am especially fascinated by star and milky way photography and PhotoPills is giving me the tools and knowledge to learn faster. Thank you.
Great video. Love the start to finish approach. And I learned several things that PhotoPills will do that I didn't know about. Thanks so much. Can't wait for the next one!
B R I L L I A N T - I love looking at great photos of the stars. I am new to photography and still learning all the settings on my Panasonic GH5 & your app PhotoPills. Thank You for producing this video guide. Cheers from Western Australia 👍🏻
Thanks so much for this video and for the app. What a great tool. Question: Is the image shown at the end the result of one shot? I've seen a lot lately about shooting with higher ISO to lower the exposure time, then stacking them in Photoshop. I want to make sure to have the correct expectations for what I might get from a one-shot attempt if that's what was presented here.
That's a single exposure. But Antoni Cladera, the Photograph of the team, sometime uses the software Starry Landscape Stacker to stack photos for the sky and reduce noise.
Hi John, the lighthouse lit the foreground. No other light is needed in this case. Otherwise you can use a LED panel to add continuous light from the side for example.
Just got the app, this is amazing guys! Felicitats! 😊 I just have a problem I just cannot find my camara model on the app. Is it because its too old? Sony a58, Is it okay to take a68 instead?
The Black Pin helps you understand topography.. I usually place it on the subject. And on Panel 2 you get the elevation difference between pins and more :)
Very good video that gives me a lot of info....one question is when you place the red pin I guess that's the milky way position, you can then move around to get the best composition, I see you can add a black pin, will that be where i plan to stand once decided , thanks
Great video, very helpful. Question? When using the spot stars function at a given focal length say 20mm, why does the max exposure time go up with a smaller diameter F stop. Example at 20mm with f 2.8 is 13.11s but f 1.8 is 11.35s to capture sharp stars?
The smaller the aperture, the larger appear the stars in the photo... so they can move a longer distance without losing the round shape. The wider the aperture, the smaller the stars, so less time is needed to lose the round shape.... and see a trail.
Brilliant! To thin in the years I have had Photo Pills on my phone, all I've used it for is DOF! Quick question... I almost always produce black and white images, and I have seen some fabulous B&W milky way shots. Do you have any tips on what I should do differently (if anything) to get a good colour photo as a basis for mono conversion? Thanks.
Hello @photopills, question. When shooting the Milky Way, is there a specific elevation needed? Do I have to climb to a high point and any point would work?
Great video and powerful app. HUGE question - I have a location I want to shoot with the galaxy, but it is all active farmland with a lot of irrigation ditches, and there are low-lying mists that form that reflect a lot of light pollution on the horizon. Besides having a light pollution filter, what else can I do to get the best results. ALMOST HUGE question: In trying to focus, using a Nikon d850 my stars during an attempt a week ago were soft. But I couldn't tell if that was due to bad focus, or not enough pixels in the back monitor, when magnified to 100%. Does anyone know if the back monitor has enough dots to be able to trust sharp vs. blurry when at 100%? Thank you! Jerry
Hi Jerry! Thanks for your comments. Here you have a video by Ian Norman that explains how to photograph the MW under heavy light pollution conditions: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J1Kfr8RG3zM.html Also, yes, to check whether the stars are in focus or not, we use the LCD screen of the camera :)
Thank you PhotoPills. For focus: I went on a test shoot a week ago to get some practice. When I looked at my LCD monitor at 100%, I couldn't tell if the blurring I saw was because of stars being out of focus, or just that the LCD didn't have enough resolution at 100%, so things looked blurry as a result. To confirm, you saying that the LCD is that trustworthy even at 100%? If so, that helps boost confidence a lot. Thanks again!!
Hi Rafael, Can you make this video available for download, where I dont have to pay a subscription to You tube, its absolutely brilliant and just what I need to refer to on my ipad when out planning milky way shots, I know there is one on the website but it is quite old now and not as good as this one...how about it..????
I have a question about hyperfocal distance. Just learning about it and I understand the concept, but how do you use it practically for long focal lengths, for example when shooting a large moon shot? Distance is in the 5000 ft range for my 420mm. I used PhotoPills for my first moonshot and just focused on the moon as it was coming up, but if I can get better focus on the subject, that would be nice.
Hi Eric, you need to focus at something that's further away than 5000ft. And then check that you're subject is also sharp. If you can't focus at a such a larger distance, then focus on your subject. It's always much better to have the subject tack sharp and the moon a bit out of focus.. than the other way around. In this video (10:48minute) I'm talking about focusing in Moon Photography and how you can use PhotoPills to work out the numbers: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jeMRiWZBEAc.html
I am new to PhotoPills. I tried the AR on the hyperfocal table and the "lines" on the floor were off by three ft. (1 m). The distance was 12'4" on the app but the actual distance when I measured to the spot was always 9'.
Hi! Welcome to the tribe! Could you go to My Stuff>Settings and check the Phone height usage. it should be around 1.35-1.40m. If the issue persists, please, send us and email via support@photopills.com. Thank you!
Sometimes I have a problem where the night ar will change position is there any advice for this the other day I used it to find Polaris and set my star tracker but then after set up and starting to take pictures I rechecked and night at was showing Polaris in a different place? It doesn't always happen normally it is fine but how do you recalibrate if the sun and moon are both not visible?
When the Sun and Moon are not visible, it's not possible to calibrate the AR views at the moment. Maybe this video helps you: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y4WBOJeKJ-0.html
Hi, I live near a lighthouse I want to include in the photo. I’m worried the light from it will overwhelm the photo. I see in your photo it looks great. Suggestions? Thank you!
Great Video. I have the Sony a6000 with FE 28 mm F2 objective. I also use the Sony wide angle lens which gives me a focal length of 21mm. Entering the data in the PhotoPills app give me NPF Rule of 10 seconds. In the video, it is recommended to have around 15 seconds. Do you think it is possible to shoot good photos of the milky way with this?
Yes, of course. You can take a photo of 10s and a photo of 15s and compare the results. You can event take a longer exposure time if you want. Then decide if the stars are spots for you or not. Some people want them really sharp, but other prefer to have a better exposure and they don't ming to have really short streaks.
where is the plan to import it ,bicause i want very much to shoot the milky way, but its hard bicause im a kid and i dont understand very good english.Btw is it possible to shoot it from Bulgaria?
The Milky Way is one thing. I can usually capture that pretty well. But I’ve tried and failed several times when incorporating a lighthouse into the frame. I don’t have that formula figured out.
